Geeky ex-librarian with a fondness for pop culture and Godzilla.

Monthly Archives: March 2011

On Friday, March 11, the north-eastern part of Japan was hit by a 9.0 earthquake, which subsequently produced a tsunami that, in some places, reached up to 33 feet. The resulting devastation from this tsunami took thousands of lives, destroyed whole villages and caused a potential nuclear disaster. Japan has a long history of recovering from disasters, but they also have a history full of color and stories.

The library has many books, fiction and non, about Japan and its people. And while we do have books on tsunamis, earthquakes and other natural disasters, we encourage you to learn about the country of Japan. The library has a display which includes non fiction titles such as Japan: A Modern History, Wrong about Japan: a father’s journey with his son, and Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa. In addition, you can check out some novels by Japanese authors (look in the teen and adult graphic novels sections for manga), books on Japanese art (check the 700s for books on drawing manga), Japanese movies (look at the end of the foreign films for anime) as well as audio books to help you learn Japanese.

For more information on the developing situation and the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, here are some links.

Born 100 years ago on March 26th, 1911, Tennessee Williams is best known for the movie adaptation of his play, A Streetcar Named Desire. And high school students might be familiar with his play, The Glass Menagerie. But no matter who you are, you’ve most likely heard of Williams, watched one the many movies his works inspired or checked out a play he wrote.

In memory of his birthday, the library is displaying a wide variety of Williams’ work. Check out a biography of Williams and learn about his life. You can also grab a copy of one of his plays, maybe put one on yourself. You can even check out a movie or two, based on his work. And if you want to dig a little deeper, check out When Blanche met Brando : the scandalous story of “A streetcar named Desire”.

If you want even more information, here are some links about Williams, his work and his life: